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5 I 



DISCOURSE 



ON THE 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



OF 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 



DELIVERED IN THE 



UNITARIAN CHURCH, 



FEBRUARY 27, 1848. 



BY GEORGE W.HOSMER. 



BUFFALO: 
STEAM PRESS OF JEWETT, THOMAS & CO. 

Commercial Advertiser Buildings. 

1848, 






To the Rev. George W. Hosmer : 

Dear Sir — la sympathy with a desire expressed by a large number of your 
auditors on Sunday evening last, we unite with them and request a copy of that 
discourse for publication. Whatever, at first view, may suggest itself as to 
propriety, growing out of haste in composition — two days only having elapsed 
from the announcement by telegraph of the death of Mr. Adams, and the preaching 
of the sermon — we trust you will waive in our behalf. 

Believing that example has been set, and that life lived for the benefit of others, 
it will contribute to our happiness to be, in howsoever humble a way, the medium 
of propagating such views and reflections as are combined in your discourse. 

Respectfully yours, 

NOAH P. SPRAGUE, 

S. N. CALLENDER, 

WM. LOVERING, 

HIRAM BARTON, 

O. G. STEELE. 
Buffalo, Fcbnuiry 28, 1848. 



Messrs. N. P. Sprague, S. N. Callender, and others : 

Gentlemen — I am happy that my discourse of last Sabbath evening met 
your approbation. Your kind note makes it unnecessary for me to speak of the 
circumstances under which it was written. I submit to your judgment ; and 
herewith place the manuscript at your disposal. 

I am, dear Sirs, 

Very truly your friend, 

G. W. HOSMER. 

linffalo, Ftbmunj XJ, 1848. 



DISCOURSE. 



Isaiah III: 1, 2, ;i. 

BEHOLD, THE LORD, THE LORD OP HOSTS, DOTH TAKE AWAY THE MIGHTY 

MAN THE JUDGE AND THE PROPHET AND THE PRUDENT AND THE 

ANCIENT THE HONORABLE MAN, AND THE COUNSELLOR AND THE 

ELOQUENT ORATOR. 

This whole nation may take up the lamentation of the 
prophet. That venerable man, who has stood so long* 
in the midst of our national councils, who has outlived 
the asperities and jealousies of party feeling - , whom all 
men have regarded as a judge and a prophet and a 
father, has been taken away. The last survivor of a 
departed generation has gone ; the link that united this 
age to the times of our revolutionary and political 
fathers, has given way. The aged patriot was smitten 
down at the post of duty, where he had so long- watched 
and toiled for his country's welfare ; and the sons and 
grandsons of those with whom he commenced his 
public career, sorrowfully bore him to his death-bed. 
The great law of Nature must be verified, " One gene- 
ration passeth away and another generation cometh." 
That seat of the ancient counsellor, which his col- 



leagues, from filial reverence, have always given him, 
is now to be vacant ; his voice is silent ; his wasted 
form, bowing under the weight of four-score years, 
is gone. Days no more will speak from his lips, nor 
multitude of years teach wisdom. His death has crea- 
ted a deep and wide spread sensation. Men of all 
parties lament his departure. The sad intelligence is 
at this moment rapidly spreading through the land; 
and in every hamlet and woodman's cottage it will be 
received with sadness. 

Such a death is a great lesson. It should not pass 
unheeded ; and I have thought it might be good for us, 
and a wise improvement of this Sabbath hour, to 
indulge such meditations as this death suggests. Be- 
hold, the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, doth take away the 
mighty man, the judge, the prophet — and all the land is 
filled with sadness. But let it be remembered, that what 
the Lord takes away he also gave. We are apt to be 
selfish in our sorrow for the loss of what we value. 
A.11 grief for blessings withdrawn should be mingled 
with grateful joy that such blessings were granted ; 
and when a great and good man, after a long and 
useful life, has been gathered to the garner of Heaven, 
like a shock of corn fully ripe, grief should give place 
to joy for the gift of such a blessing to the nation and 
to mankind. The great and good man is one of God's 
best gifts, and the noblest subject of contemplation that 
this world contains. We admire the vastness and 



grandeur of the material universe ; our souls are awed 
by the roaring" cataract ; the uplifted mountain ; the 
heaving- ocean ; but when we think of a great and 
good man, the material universe seems small and 
almost insignificant. The capacities, the acts, the 
influence of such a man, open so many subjects of 
quickening* thought. He reveals the meaning" of human 
life ; shows us what we are made to be and to do ; 
lifts us above the mists of our ignorance, and out of the 
boundaries of our selfishness, and discloses the paths of 
our capability. In his life we see the vast reach of 
thought, magnanimity of affection, energy of will, lofti- 
ness of purpose, and the clear sight and humble 
confidence of faith. The great and good man is a true 
prophet ; the present is filled with his light, and his 
aims and tendencies foretell the future. He is a reve- 
lation from God. He is the grace of God made flesh 
to dwell among us and quicken and guide us. 

The great and good will be held in reverence. Even 
bad men will revere them. Prejudice may blind us ; 
but if we recognize the great and good, the law of our 
nature binds us to revere them. The devils believe 
and tremble. And what should awaken a deeper 
gratitude than to dwell in the light of a great and good 
soul? Who can measure the uplifting influences of 
such ones as the Puritan Winthrop and Eliot, Wm. 
Penn, the patriotic Franklin and Washington, and all 
that host of worthies which God has given to our coun- 



try ? How often have such ones rebuked us, taught 
us, inspired us. cheered us ! Indeed, what would this 
world be, but for the great and good ones; the patriots, 
martyrs, prophets, who have gone up in courage and 
patience, and opened paths to the realms of true life 1 — 
what, but a night without stars ! 

Perhaps the great and good have been near us ; we 
have listened to their living voice, communed with 
them at the fire-side, and now, with tears of gratitude, 
we consider what we owe to their clear thoughts and 
pure affections and holy purposes. But for them, where 
and what might we be ? Weak and imperfect as we 
now are, but for them we mi^ht have been worse, the 
dominion of sense stronger, and the stains of sin deeper ; 
but for them, the great and good who have been near 
us, we might be out of sight of truth and right and 
peace. As we look back over our way, from the morn- 
ing of childhood, do we not see good angels who have 
strengthened us ? And to the present moment, our 
souls bear the mark of their influence. The principle 
which they instilled, the impulse they gave, the resolve 
they taught us to cherish, the hope which their life 
inspired, these are the very jewels of our souls. And 
as their forms rise before us, and memory brings the 
record of their services in our behalf, we are filled with 
veneration and gratitude. It would be a disgrace to 
humanity, if thanksgivings were not ready to break 
from our lips. Sorrow for the departure of the great 



and good should always be marked with gratitude for 
their eminent services. 

And to whom shall we dedicate our song- of praise ? 
Shall it be to the angels who have ministered to us, 
to the great and good who have taught, quickened and 
guided us, or to Him who makes angels his ministers, 
and kindles the bright light in the great and good man's 
soul ? Through this question, there breaks upon my 
mind a subject of unspeakable significance. The near- 
ness — the very union of God and the great and good 
man. The man is the image of God. The divinity 
resides in him, and shines in his life. God and his 
faithful child can hardly be separated in our thoughts. 
" He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." The 
very being of God's faithful child — what is it ? Whence 
his capabilities ; the influences that quicken him ; the 
opportunities in which he acts 1 Whence come his 
breathing thoughts, burning words, and the riches of 
his heart 1 By what mysterious affinity is his gifted, 
laboring soul bound in sympathy with other minds, till 
they catch the heat that burns in his bosom ? We 
tremble with awe and joy when we think how God 
is with him. He and his Father are fellow-laborers. 
God is in him and he in God. They are one. The 
great and good man is anointed and sent of God ; 
else he were neither great nor good — else he were 
nothing. This commingling of divinity and humanity ; 
this union of good men with God which at the same 



8 

time awes and encourages us, is a scripture doctrine ; 
Christ declared it, and both Paul and John taught 
and illustrated it. 

To whom, then, shall we pay our tribute of gratitude 
for the influence of the wise and good 1 Most surely, 
these faithful ones who have done nobly for their coun- 
try and their race are not to be forgotten. Had they 
indulged the love of ease, had they drawn their sym- 
pathies within the circle of selfishness, their light 
would not have fallen upon our paths. Those worthy 
men who pledged their lives, their fortunes and their 
sacred honor, and laid the foundations of our national 
welfare ; whose memories are treasured up in the 
hearts of the American people, might have done ignobly, 
and lived in selfish sloth. Thanks to their risen spirits 
that they did not. Thanks for all their worth, and al] 
their generous sacrifices. But the faithful man cannot 
be separated from God, in whom he lives and moves ; 
and when the services of the wise and good rise in our 
memory and pass before us, our souls should ascend in 
an anthem of praise to God, that he hath given the 
mighty man — and the judge and the prophet and the 
prudent and the ancient — the counsellor and the elo- 
quent orator, to guide human affairs, and to enlighten 
the world. 

John Quincy Adams was born in Quincy, Mass., in 
1767. He was of the old Puritan stock : a descendant 
of the sixth generation from Henry Adams, who came 



from England among- the early settlers of Massachu- 
setts. His mother was hardly less remarkable than 
his father. She was the daughter of the Rev. William 
Smith, of Weymouth, and grand-daughther of Colonel 
Quincy, of Mount Wallaston, now Quincy, who was 
the ancestor of the distinguished family of that name 
in Massachusetts. She is said to have been " a lady 
every way worthy of her husband ; endowed by nature 
with a countenance singrilarly noble and lovely, and 
with a mind whose fine powers were improved by an 
excellent education. Her ardor, in the cause of her 
country, was as elevated as that of her husband's ; and 
her piety was unaffected and exemplary." In her 
admirable letters to her husband, when absent from 
home, she gives us some glimpses of the early youth 
of their distinguished son, and of the nature of his 
primary education. He was brought up in all the sim- 
plicity of life, peculiar to the country towns of New 
England at that day. 

At quite an early age he went, with his father, who 
was appointed a Commissioner, to Europe ; where he 
spent several years ; during which time, he travelled 
through Europe; and in the Public School of Amsterdam, 
and afterwards in the University of Leyden, enjoyed the 
best opportunities for study. He returned home and 
entered Harvard College, a junior, and was graduated 
with distinguished honor, in 1787. The Oration which 
he delivered on the day of his graduation was received 

B 



10 

with distinguished applause. From his infancy he had 
breathed the air of patriotism. His country was then 
struggling' to escape from the weakness and disorder 
of the Old Confederation. The sages of the land were 
deliberating upon the principles of a new constitution ; 
the youthful student had caught the key note ; his Ora- 
tion was in unison with the employment of the master- 
spirits of the time. Dr. Jeremy Belknap, the historian 
of New Hampshire, and one of the first literary men 
of his time, solicited a copy of the Oration for publica- 
tion. Mr. Adams objected ; and Dr. Belknap wrote in 
continued solicitation. " Can your modesty suffer by 
yielding to a proper request ? And why should the 
name be suppressed? — a name which calls up every 
grateful and affectionate feeling in the breasts of Ame- 
ricans ? Without the name your Alma Mater will be 
deprived of half the honor which she deserves ; but if 
that be added, the friends of liberty and virtue will 
have the satisfaction to see the features of the parent 
in the son ; and, I may add, your country will have a 
pledge of a succession of abilities in the same family, 
still to aid her cause and espouse her interest." Mr. 
Adams finally left the matter to Dr. Belknap ; and the 
Oration was published, with his name, in the Columbian 
Magazine. He studied law in Newburyport, and 
commenced its' practice in Boston; but he was soon 
called into public lite. At the age of twenty-seven, he 
was appointed by Washington, Minister to the Batavian 



11 

Republic ; which court, at that period, on account of its 
central position and national relations, was regarded as 
the best school of diplomacy in Europe. He was 
thence transferred to Portugal, thence to Prussia, thence 
to Sweden ; and from all these embassies, he returned 
to this country after an absence of seven years. 

But he was not permitted long* to remain a private 
citizen ; he was chosen to the Senate of Massachusetts 
for one year ; and two years afterwards, to the Senate 
of the United States, which position he occupied for 
five years. Three years he was Professor of Rhetoric 
and Oratory in Harvard College, having- at that time 
the reputation of unequalled accomplishments, both as a 
scholar and an orator. While in this Professorship, he 
was also, a part of the time, in the Senate of the United 
States, and part of the time, in the practice of the law 
in Boston — performing- prodigies of labor. At this 
period, being- about forty years of age, he was appointed 
by Mr. Jefferson Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia, 
where he performed signal services for his country. 
While at St. Petersburgh, he was appointed a Judge of 
the Supreme Court of the United States. This appoint- 
ment he declined. He was at the head of the Ameri- 
can delegation in the august conference of Ghent ; then 
Minister to England ; then for eight years Secretary of 
State ; then President for one term. 

Upon his retirement from the Presidency, he went to 
his mansion, at Quincy — the home of his childhood — 



12 

where his venerable father had spent his old age. He 
had now passed through nearly sixty years of most 
interesting experience; had held the highest offices ; and 
had reached a time of life when repose becomes grate- 
ful to most of men. But Mr. Adams was too wise to 
seek happiness in inactivity; he delighted in labor. 
His fellow-citizens had learned to confide in his ability 
and uprightness : and they solicited him to represent 
them in Congress. Had he been a lover of official 
forms and dignities, he would have refused to stand in 
a subordinate position after having occupied the highest 
place ; but he had no ambition except to be useful ; 
though he had governed, he was willing to serve, and 
cheerfully yielded to the request of his fellow-citizens, 
and became their representative ; and as such he has 
remained for seventeen years ; till death, as though 
observant of the old man's wish, came and touched 
him at his post of duty — gently helped him to change 
his vesture and ascend to the mansions of immortality. 

Such is a meagre sketch of Mr. Adams' public career. 
No other man in this country has given to the public so 
many years of service ; and no other one has held 
so many, so various, and so important offices. From 
the time he was twenty-seven years of age, till he was 
eighty — more than half a century — with the exception 
of two or three years, he has given his energies to his 
country's welfare. No man, in this age, has done more 



13 

hard work than he : fifty years of unceasing- toil and 
wearing- care, with eminent talents and all the treasures 
of profound learning-, and long- experience — what a sacri- 
fice to be laid upon the altar of patriotism ! How such 
an example rebukes the heated, noisy scramblers, who 
would rush at once into the temple of fame, and for 
some adroit political manoeuvres, or brave adventures, 
insist upon being- recorded as immortal patriots, and 
claim that ever after their country shall maintain them 
in luxury and uselessness. 

It would be difficult to determine in what points of 
his great career, Mr. Adams was most distinguished or 
most useful. He created an era of remarkable splen- 
dor in the history of the university in which he held a 
professorship. His lectures were listened to with 
admiration ; and, it would be interesting', could we 
look into the lives of those young- men who enjoyed 
his services, to see with what hope and courag-e he 
inspired them. As a diplomatist in foreign courts, his 
extensive knowledg-e, his deep penetration, and his 
eminent talents were every where acknowledged. He 
was an honor to the country which he represented. 
It is doing- no injustice to say, that no one among his 
cotemporaries was regarded as his equal in statesman- 
like diplomacy. Mr. Madison acknowledged his supe- 
riority when he placed him at the head of our embassy 
to Ghent, and immediately after the last war with 
England, sent him to the Court of St. James. From 



14 

1817, for twelve years, Mr. Adams was the master- 
spirit of our national administration : eight years Sec- 
retary of State under Mr. Monroe : and four years 
President. I suppose that men of all parties will not 
hesitate to say, that our government, during that time, 
was faithfully, and ably administered. 

And now we turn to these last seventeen years of ser- 
vice in the House of Representatives. Many of the 
friends of Mr. Adams would have dissuaded him from 
entering the House in 1831. It seemed that he had 
done enough — that the measure of his fame was full ; 
and some feared that his reputation might suffer in the 
conflicts into which he would be brought. It was a 
novel sight to see one, who had been clothed with the 
highest dignities of the Republic, standing again among 
the people's representatives. All eyes were upon the 
time-worn veteran, who had gone from the chief com- 
mand to bear again the brunt of the ranks. All will 
admit that he has fully sustained himself, and never 
received a larger tribute of respect and homage, than 
during these last seventeen years. It is difficult, I 
repeat, to say at what point of his noble services he 
has been most distinguished and useful. Indeed, in his 
public life there are no lonely mountain-peaks shooting 
up by sharp and ragged ascent from the plain around, 
fearfully and unprofitably covered with smoke and 
flame : his life was a grand mountain-chain, ranging 
through the whole landscape of his times, with its high 



15 

tables and successive elevations, and all covered with 
verdure and harvest fruits up to the very summits. 

Some will be more interested with his conduct when 
abroad, and others with what he did at home, when in 
the cabinet, or in the Presidential chair. But, I love best 
to think of the departed patriot as a representative of 
the people. He has presented a noble spectacle ; vene- 
rable by wisdom and dignity, as well as by years, he 
has stood there in his country's Capitol the impersona- 
tion of true conservatism ; with one hand pointing- to 
history and to the Fathers of our Republic — with the 
other, indicating the hope of futurity, and earnestly 
calling upon the younger men around him to be just 
and fear not. The influence of such a man, as we might 
conjecture, and as a thousand circumstances have 
shown, was very great indeed. All men revered him ; 
all acknowledged his consummate ability ; all knew 
him to be honest and patriotic ; and all prized his appro- 
bation. While grateful that his life has been spared so 
long, we cannot but deeply regret his departure at this 
juncture of our national affairs. The great question of 
slavery is pressing upon us, and must be settled before 
many years. The crisis is come ; every month it is 
growing more and more intense ; the excitement it 
creates is every where felt ; the whole fabric of our 
Republic trembles ; — it will tremble more and more, till 
impassable limits are set to the slave-power. On this 
terrible subject, Mr. Adams' influence was invaluable. 



16 

He was no party man ; but a republican patriot. He 
stood up boldly for the rights of man — of all men, 
black and white. How firmly he has resisted the 
aggressions of slavery ; how earnestly contended for 
the right of the people to lay their petitions before 
their representatives ; and yet, the abolitionists did not 
own him. There he stood, on his own ground — upon 
the great principles of constitutional liberty. Would 
that he had been spared yet longer to mediate between 
extremes, and ward off the shock of inexperienced and 
heated partizans. 

History has recorded but few deeds so grand as that 
of John Quincy Adams pleading for ten hours for the 
poor Amistad captives, before the Supreme Court of 
the United States. That scene would be a fine subject 
for a painter. Such clients ! Such an advocate ! and 
before such a tribunal ! What contrasts ! what sublime 
disinterestedness ! What a triumph of truth and right ! 

For fifty years, Mr. Adams has been almost constantly 
in the employment of the public, and has held all the 
higher offices of our government, and yet he has never 
been what is usually called a popular man. He has had 
no noisy crowd of street friends to shout his name ; per- 
haps I may say that he never has fully pleased his own 
party ; and sometimes, he has greatly grieved them. 
And why is this ? In the first place, his person and 
manners were not such as make a man popular. There 
was no easy compliance in his look and bearing ; he 






17 

had no unmeaning- speech — no smiles and compliments 
for all sorts of people. He was a leader by the power 
of truth and right, rather than by the persuasiveness 
of his address. He had too much personal indepen- 
dence, to be a popular politician. He would not go 
with his party, right or wrong — he insisted on doing 
what seemed to him right, and for the welfare of the 
country; he was his own party — and has often been 
called a stubborn, untractable man ; sometimes he was 
obstinate, and it would be strange if he were always 
right — but he was always honest — and who can 
withhold respect from the honest man, though he be 
obstinate in his honesty — stubborn in his uprightness? 
Mr. Adams was never popular, certainly not until these 
latter years, when his venerable old age won for him an 
affectionate reverence ; but his honest independence 
always commanded respect, and his acknowledged 
ability won for him the confidence of his countrymen. 
Mr. Adams' fame has not yet reached its meridian. 
His public life was not one to strike the first gaze : he 
built upon broad, deep foundations. His greatness was 
not in circumstance and detail — in brilliant enthusiasm, 
and electrifying eloquence. He condescended to no 
little artifice, to win admiration. He preferred to 
shine with a steady brightness, rather than send flashes 
of lightning out of prevailing darkness. The picture 
of his life had no glaring colors in it; it was like the 
chef d'ceuvres of the old Masters, and required observa- 



18 

tion and study to bring- out the points, and appreciate 
the excellence. He stands higher now, than at any 
former period ; and as time rolls on, and party animosi- 
ties die away, his ability and great worth will command 
still higher admiration, and his name will shine with a 
clearer lustre. 

The life of this distinguished benefactor of our coun- 
try, contains many lessons for all who aspire to be 
patriots in the walks of political preferment. It teaches 
that party subserviency is not necessary to the highest 
success — that in the long run, honesty will win the 
victory over duplicity and finesse ; that persevering 
industry is the only sure way to eminence and large 
usefulness ; and it teaches all men every where, that 
temperance and purity are of great value to the public 
man, and that they can be maintained amidst the 
strongest temptations. 

And, my friends, this life has lessons for us all, what- 
ever be our position, or the direction of our purposes ; 
especially it gives us lessons of hope, and should create 
earnest aspirations in the bosom of every young man, 
be his occupation what it may. It teaches us how 
much man can accomplish ; what ample territories he 
can conquer from the realms of darkness ; how large, 
and full, and rich a life he can live. 

Are you ready to say, that such a life as that which 
we have in view to night, is no example to us ? Yes ; 
I anticipate this. Few, it will be said, have the natural 



19 

endowments of Mr. Adams, and still fewer have such 
a felicitous combination of friends and circumstances to 
help them forward in life. Undoubtedly, it is true that 
Mr. Adams possessed superior endowments ; but I 
suspect that he owed his eminence quite as much to 
his industry and methodical perseverance, as to his 
remarkable endowments ; and it is also true, that an 
opportunity was given him ; but of what avail would 
it have been, had there not been in him a resolute, 
faithful spirit to improve it ? The history of great 
men teaches us, that even the humble cottages of the 
poor are more propitious goals from which to start in 
life, than the mansions of the rich and powerful. The 
forest tree that is fostered in the sheltered nursery, and 
about which the selectest influences are gathered, will 
almost certainly be inferior in size and strength to the oak 
which springs up on the woodland hill, and wrestles with 
the storm, and conquers its opportunity for existence. 
But, my time admonishes me, that I must not linger ; 
that view of the character of the departed patriot, which 
interests me most, I have not yet presented. He was 
a deeply religious man — hardly less a saint than a 
patriot ; faith in God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
filled his heart, his mind, his soul; he was humbly 
reverent, and habitually devout. No man was more 
conscientiously observant of Christian requirements. 
The Bible was the book of his daily counsel ; he read 
it in many languages ; studied its deep meaning ; and 



20 

was familiar with its contents. It was his law book. 
He was a constant attendant upon public worship. 
He hallowed the Sabbath day. 

As you know, his convictions and sympathies were 
with the Unitarian denomination : but let it not be 
thought, for a moment, that I come here to make a 
sectarian boast out of his great name. We have seen 
too much of such poor attempts. We rejoice, as we 
justly may, that so great and good a man was with us 
in religious faith ; we feel strengthened in our assu- 
rance, because we know that he was an independent 
inquirer, had a reverent heart, and was capable of 
making* the most thorough investigation. We rejoice 
to remember him as presiding- over some of our public 
annual meetings, and as being a communicant in our 
churches ; but it is in no sectarian spirit that I allude 
to his peculiar opinions and connexion with our denomi- 
nation. He was no sectarian ; he would no more be 
confined by a sect than by a party ; he was a free, 
devoted, humble follower of Christ ; and, as such, his 
example is a noble incitement to us all. In his life, 
piety and moralijy were joined into one homogeneous 
stock, from which arose and spread the branches of his 
virtues, and his patriotism. If it be true, as we see it 
asserted, that he read a portion of Scripture every day 
of his busy and crowded life, what a lesson is given us 
in that fact ! would that every public man might follow 
such an example ! would that we all, amidst our busi- 



21 

ness, cares, and pleasures, might have daily seasons to 
search for divine truth, and commune with God in the 
secret silence of our souls ! 

Mr. Adams was as happy in the circumstances of his 
death, as in those of his life. He was useful to the last 
moment : he was smitten at the post of his duty ; he 
died in the Capitol, in the midst of the Representatives 
of this Republic, to which, under God, he had given 
his long life ; sinking, like Chatham, into the arms of 
his country, to be borne to his rest. And those half 
uttered words, that dropped from his dying lips : " This 
is the last of earth ! I am content !" What mean- 
ing they convey ! One stage of his immortal career 
was finished ; the light of earth was gone : but he 
did not repine — he was not surprised; long he had 
been waiting for the silent messenger ; he was ready 
to depart; he had laid up treasures in Heaven, and 
trusted in God, through Jesus Christ, that a glorious 
morning would break upon the shades of death. 

Good old man — true patriot — venerable sage — fare- 
well ! The genius of thy country bewails thy depar- 
ture! The hearts of millions are saddened by the 
thought that thy useful labors must end. Would that 
thou couldst have lived to see the affrighted dove of 
peace alight once more upon the Capitol ; would that 
thou couldst have staid to help guide us through the 
threatening storm : but as it cannot be so, thanks be to 
God who has given thee to our nation so long. And 



22 

while we think of thee in that spirit land, with thy 
venerated father, who has long" awaited thy coming*, and 
with our Country's father, who was thy early friend, 
and with that noble band of patriots, into whose labors 
thou on earth didst enter, we will emulate thy virtues, 
and send up our prayers to Heaven for blessings upon 
our beloved country. 



APPENDIX 



On Monday, the 21st of February, 1848, John Quincy Adams sunk in his seat in 
the House of Representatives, smitten by paralysis ; and died in the Speaker's 
room, in the Capitol, at a quarter past seven o'clock in the evening of the 23rd of 
February ; with the officers of the House, and the Delegation of Massachusetts 
around him. As he fell, he said, "This is the last of earth ; I am content." 
These were his last words. 

On the 24th, both Houses of Congress assembled, and most affecting eulogies 
were pronounced upon the departed patriot, in the House of Representatives, by 
Mr. Speaker Winthrop and Messrs. Hudson, of Massachusetss ; Holmes, of 
South Carolina ; McDowell, of Virginia ; and Vinton, of Ohio ; and in the Senate, 
by Messrs. Davis, of Massachusettes, and Benton, of Missouri. 

The funeral, at Washington, took place February 26th. It was celebrated with 
great solemnity. Says an eye-witness, "A more impressive scene was never 
witnessed in this city. Minute guns were fired from sun rise til! twelve o'clock. 
The Executive Departments, and many of the private buildings on Pennsylvania 
Avenue, were put in mourning. The stores were closed, and all business suspended. 
The crowd in, and around the Capitol was unprecedented." 

At ten minutes before twelve o'clock, the Speaker called the House to order ; at 
which moment the bell on Capitol Hill commenced its solemn tolling, as the signal 
for the commencement of the ceremonies. The President of the United States, 
and Heads of the Departments entered the Hall — the former taking his seat at 
the right of the Speaker. The Judges of the Supreme Court in their gowns ; the 
officers of the Army and Navy in full uniform ; the Foreign Ministers and their 
suites, in splendid costume, followed, and took their seats upon the right and left 
of the area in front of the Speaker's chair. The Senate of the United States then 
entered with the Vice President — the latter taking his seat on the Speaker's left. 
Mr. C. F. Adams, and others of the family and friends of the deceased, occupied 
a range of seats provided for them at the left of the area. 

After a prayer of some minutes, Senators Webster and Davis, and the Massa- 
chusetts Delegation, as mourners, in black scarfs and bands, entered the Hall, 
preceding the coffin, which was brought in in charge of Pall-Bearers and the 
Committee of Arrangements. ThePA ll-Beakers were 



Hon. J. J. McKay, N. C. 
Hon. Linn Boyd, Ky. 
Hon. John C. Calhoun, S. C. 
Chief Justice R. B. Taney. 
General George Gibson. 
Hon. W. W. Seaton. 



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Hon. Truman Smith, Conn. 

Hon. J. I.NGERSOLL, Pa. 

Hon. Thomas H. Benton, Mo: 

Hon. Justice J. McLean. 
Com. Charles Morris. 
Hon. Thomas H. Crawford. 



The coffin was placed on the bier in the area, in front of the Speaker. After 
depositing the coffin, those who had it in charge remained standing around it a 
number of minutes in impressive silence, while the whole assembly arose. 

The coffin, which was of lead, inclosed in mahogany, was silver mounted, and 
covered with black silk velvet, trimmed with silver. A silver heart-shaped plate r 



24 

decorated with a~spread eagle, bears the following inscription, which was written 
at the request of the Massachusetts Delegation, by Daniel Webster, to wit : 

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, 

BORN, 
\N I Nil. MUTANT OP MASSACHUSETTS, JULY 11. 171.7. 

DIED, 
A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES 

IN THE CAPITOL, AT WASHINGTON, 
FEBRUARY 33, 1848. 

HAVING SERVED HIS COUNTRY FOR HALF A CENTURY, 

AND 

ENJOYED ITS HIGHEST HONORS. 

On Monday, the 28th, the corpse of the deceased was taken from Washington, 
to be removed to Quincy, Mass., under the care of the Committee of the House. 

Quincy is a small village, eight miles south-east from Boston. The Church of 
the Congregational (Unitarian) Society is a fine structure, built of granite, with a 
pediment in front, supported by four Doric pillars, the shaft of each being a single 
block. The elder President Adams bequeathed valuable property to this Society. 
Their Church was built in 1828 ; and under it is a tomb containing the remains of 
John Adams and his wife. On the end opposite the door, by the side of the pulpit, 
is a mural monument, surmounted by a bust of John Adams, from the chisel of 
Greenough. On the tablets beneath the bust are the following inscriptions : 

Libertatem, Jlmicitiam, Fidem Retinebis. 
D. O. M. 



Beneath these walls 
Are deposited the mortal remains of 

JOHN ADAMS, 

Son of John and Susanna (Boylston) Adams; 

Second President of the United States; 

Born October 19, 1735 ; 

On the Fourth of July, 1776, 

He pledged his Life, Fortune, and Sacred Honor 

To the Independence of his Country; 

On the third of September, 1783, 

He affixed his Seal to the definitive Treaty with 

Great Britain, 

Which acknowledged that Independence, 

And consummated the redemption of his pledge; 

On the Fourth of July, 1836, 

He was summoned 

To the Independence of Immortality, 

And to the Judgment of his God; 

This House will bear witness to his piety; 

This Town, his birth-place, to his munificence; 

History to his Patriotism; 
Posterity to the depth and compass of his mind. 



At his side 
Sleeps, till the Trump shall sound, 

ABIGAIL, 

His beloved and only wife, 

Daughter of Win. and Elizabeth (Quincy) Smith; 

In every relation of life a pattern of 

Filial, Conjugal, Maternal, and Social Virtue; 

Born November 11. 1744, 

Deceased October 28, 1818, 

EX. 74. 



Married October 26, 17o"4. 

During an union of more than half a century, 

They survived, in harmony of sentiment, 

Principle, and affection, 

The tempest of civil commotion ; 

Meeting undaunted, and surmounting 

The terrors and trials of that Revolution 

Which secured the Freedom of their Country; 

Improved the condition of their times; 

And brightened the prospects of Futurity 

To the race of man upon Earth. 



PILGRIM, 

From lives thus spent thy earthly duties learn. 
From Fancy's dreams to active Virtue turn ; 
Let Freedom, Friendship, Faith, thy soul engage, 
And serve like them thy Country and thy age. 



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